Gaius Petronius Arbiter (27-66 AD) was the Arbiter of Elegance at the court of the Roman emperor Nero during the 1st century AD.
Biography[]
Gaius Petronius Arbiter was born in Massilia, Roman Empire in 27 AD, the uncle of the Roman legate Marcus Vinicius. He served as suffect consul in 62 AD and as the "Arbiter of Elegance" at the court of Emperor Nero, serving as a fashion advisor. He was known for his reckless freedom of speech and his frankness, and he authored the Satyricon, a satyrical novel containing a mixture of prose and verse. His high position and his closeness to the Emperor made several other courtiers jealous, so the Praetorian Guard prefect Tigellinus accused Petronius of treason. Petronius was arrested at Cumae in 65 AD, but he decided to slit his own wrists rather than be executed or imprisoned.